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Lyle Ashton Harris To Lecture Saturday May 7

Three of the museum’s affiliate groups -- The Contemporary Art Society, Friends of Photography, and Friends of African and African-American Art -- have joined forces with our Education Department to host renowned artist Lyle Ashton Harris in a free museum lecture on Saturday, May 7 at 3 p.m in the Recital Hall. His talk presents a unique opportunity to learn about the intersections between African art, contemporary art, and photography.

Harris's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the 2nd International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Seville and the 52nd Venice Biennale, and is held in numerous public collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Walker Art Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Harris, who splits his time between New York City and Accra, Ghana, will discuss the relationship between his current work and Ghana's rich cultural heritage. After his lecture, Harris will sign copies of his book, Excessive Exposure: The Complete Chocolate Portraits. The books will be available for sale.

Listen to a recent interview where Harris discusses the inspiration for his book and what he learned in the process of developing it.

Constantine Petridis, curator of African Art, met Harris while conducting research in Ghana and became intrigued by his works’ strong ties with Africa. Paola Morsiani, curator of contemporary art, sheds light on Harris’ unique contributions to contemporary art.

“Lyle Ashton Harris gained acclaim in the late 1980s for his studio-based self-portraits which explored alternative notions of body, gender, and race. His work in photography engages performance and installation, as well as American tradition in photography. By charting unexplored territory in the study of the self through photography and its presentation, Harris has contributed a body of work that has influenced younger generations. His photographs combine carefully constructed, full-blown personal fantasies with a photographic experimentation and a new kind of exploration of the expressive power of the medium."